Dec 03 2007
A True Labor of Love
This hooded cardigan has been on the needles for so long that I can only call it a labor of love. I picked it up again in October after many months of lingering in my knitting bag. I started this cardigan in January. While I have not been knitting continuously on it - I had my seventeen day affair with Aftur - I have been working on it quite a bit.
Since October, I have finished the back, and have finished 3/4 of the second sleeve. I am trying not to feel bogged down; there are still have the two fronts AND the hood to knit. I hate to admit it, but this is no longer a process knit - it is squarely in the MUST FINISH THIS THING AND GET IT OFF THE NEEDLES category.
Please do not mistake my urgency for dislike of the pattern or the yarn - that is really not the case. I encountered the Street Smart hoodie soon after I learned to knit - four years ago last month - and dreamed about the day that I could have the skill and the patience to make it. And the yarn - so perfect and blue. It is a true joy to knit.
I just want it off my needles before the year is out. That seems like a reasonable goal, right?
Do you have any long-standing unfinished knits?
“it is squarely in the MUST FINISH THIS THING AND GET IT OFF THE NEEDLES category.”
As is the apple-green Malabrigo sweater I was last actively knitting on at Amy Singer’s book release party in Toronto.
For Knit Wit.
In 2004.
(runs screaming from the room)
By the way, I’m wicked impressed by your thrift store tweed score.
My Central Park Hoodie is my long-term knit. I get this burst of energy and inspiration to work on it every so often, and then I start to hate it. It’s currently being ignored in favor of quick holiday knits!
You should join the Clean Slate by 2008 along in Ravelry. It might give you a little more incentive to finish by the end of the year. I think they are even going to maybe draw for prizes for the person who finished the most items or something. My WIP list has already decreased dramatically because I have to account to people for it.
There is a certain Icelandic sweater on my needles screaming to be finished by Christmas. Big old men’s sweaters really test my stamina - thanks for the moral support!!
I have this wonderful cabled sweater, back done, front almost. Waterspun Weekend yarn in a wonderful teal color. The sweater is too small and the color not for me. It’s sitting in the bottom of my stash box, waiting to be ripped. But I can’t rip it. I feel the need to finish it for some reason and then find a recipient. Why? Why do we do that to ourselves? And here I started three sweaters in September for Christmas and they’re going to be done. A little focus is all it takes and I can produce. But really, I’m a process knitter. Good for you for pulling that out to finish. I imagine I’ll get to mine too, but it will probably hang around for a long time because I like to knit on it now and then but don’t have any need for it as a finished garment!
Are you kidding? I have a sweater I began in April 2003 still on the needles! I know it was April 2003 because I was in Hawaii for a race and knitted it when we were being driven around. Clean slate by 2008? Well, maybe END of 2008…does that count?
Ohh, yes. I have a ton of stuff on the needles, but the one that makes me feel the most guilty is the blanket for my fiance. lol
It’s the Ombre Alpaca Blanket from LMKG that I started in August 2005, and if I don’t finish it before Christmas, it will have been on the needles for exactly 2 years and 4 months. The good news is I picked it up again a couple of weeks ago having just started color 8, and now I’m almost finished with color 9 (of 11). I did the 4.75″ of Color #9 over the weekend, so if I can keep going at that pace, it will DEFINITELY be done in time for Christmas. I also have Lady Eleanor, which has been on the needles since October 2006, lol. But that one doesn’t bother me. 
I am the worst! I started a blanket for my son when he was 8 (in 1997). The joke has became that I would have it done by the time he was in college. Well, he is now 18 and has already graduated from high school and its not done! Of course he keeps getting taller and taller is what I say! I need to get it done. ugh!
Heh. Yes, I too have some long term knits. My Celtic Dreams which is only missing a sleeve, my Siv of which only the back is done and my entrelac socks which have one and a smidge done. All have been around for at least a year, (socks) and 2 to 3 years for the 2 sweaters.
The sweater is lovely though, that blue is gorgeous.
Oooh. That’s pretty! I love that color blue.
My longstanding knits at this point are Simple Knitted Bodice and a second gray sock which was the second of my first pair, which is so hopelessly boring that it’s a PITA to finish.
I just finished a cardigan I started for my daughter (2 yo) in May. I guess it hasn’t been that long, but it seems like forever! It still needs a good blocking and some buttons before I post pictures on my blog. It has 262 bobbles, which nearly made me chuck the whole project, a ton of cables and yarn overs, plus a lacy edging all the way around.
Oh it is so gorgeous! Finishing it up will be a good present to yourself this year
I have lots of long standing unfinished projects, but I think all of them are destined to be frogged and at the moment I’m just a bit lazy… nothing that I really HAVE to have.
Of course. Perfectly reasonable goal. Although, I’m not going to lie. Hoods are certainly a test of patience. My Arwen cardi, which I completely love, was a real slog to get through the hood. By the time you finish the the body, you think you’re home free, but you’ve still got the whole stinking hood left! Too bad I love hoodies. Especially cardi hoodies…
Dude! My Print o’ the Wave Stole!! It’s been over a year since I even touched it! My heart still tells me I want it, but my head is saying, “Don’t be silly, you’ll never pick it back up.”
And then there’s the part of me that feels like I should frog the 10 or so inches that I have and start over because at this point in my knitting career it will probably seem much easier… but the old stuff seems to be tainted with my frustration.
Oooh yeah! I always have long standing unfinished projects, I get sidetracked by other projects, or gifts for others. I just finished my Lizard Ridge and it took over a year to finish! That’s just because I left it sitting around, not because it really took that long. I try not to feel too guilty about these things, because it kills the creativity, but I also try to keep track of my oldest UFO’s and put them high on my priority list so they at least have a *chance* of getting finished!
That’s a lovely cardi - cant wait to see it finished!
I’ve started and re-started neoknits’ Grannie Smith Cardigan. I just can’t find the motivation to pick it up…
oddly enough, my longest percolating WIP is also from Street Smart - the Urban Aran. I’ve knit it to the armhole split, but I can’t seem to work up the energy to pick it up again - it’s been pretty much benched since the spring. I long to own it, but somehow the knitting of it exhausts me, and not just because I converted the pattern to a cardigan knit in the round and so I’m constantly having to mentally rework the pattern to make sense to me. Someday it’ll find its way back into my good graces.
Ooooh, that blue is gorgeous!
My “must get off the needles” project is my Everyday Cardi (a/k/a Neverending Cardi). I just finished the back, and I’ve got the sleeves done already — only the fronts left!
Is it wrong that I’m thinking I should lose weight to make my sweater knitting more efficient?
My oldest UFO is, believe it or not, a sock that I started back in March. I finished the first one quickly, got down to the heel of the second one and then realized that I was going to run out of yarn. I knit them with self-striping yarn, so it was easy to follow the pattern and see that I’m going to run short on the toe, so I had to decide whether to unravel the cuffs of both socks and add it to the toe, or just stick on a contrasting toe. I’m not in love with them, so I have no sense of urgency to decide, but I do feel guilty when I see them hanging out in a ziploc bag at the bottom of my knitting bag.
every time I see your street smart cabled hoody, I am tempted to start one of my own!
My Celtic Dreams is still on the needles. I started it last year in… February? It’s a definite labour of love for me, the sort of thing I am knitting for process instead of product (unlike many of my projects).
Argh, this blue is so gorgeous! I love it! My longstanding knit is a babyblanket that has been on the needles for almost two years. It’s ridiculous.
I do love that blue. As for my longterm knit, Moderne is kicking my butt a full year on.
I have been working on Shedir since this past February. I know it’s not a super-fast knit (with all that cabling), but it’s a HAT! I have finished a pair of socks in four days on much smaller needles; you’d think it wouldn’t take me this long to finish. But now that the cold weather is here and I’m feeling a need for a hat, I’m hoping that’s all the kick I need to finish the thing.
I have been working on Rogue for about two years, and I just picked it up again this month, too. All I have left is the hood, but I think it’s going to go slowly with all of those cables. I am amazed how much I’ve learned since I started it, and all of the things I would change if I had it to do all over again.
you’re getting close! it looks great!!!!!!
I totally get that. It is amazing that even though you really love a pattern you can still struggle to finish the knit. I am finding that right now with my Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I am just draggin’ my heels for some unknown reason.
I have that same sweater lurking in my UFO pile — it’s just one of many. I started it in cotton in September when I was dying for cooler days. Now that the weather has turned I think it will wait until February so it will be ready for Spring wear.
Yours is lovely!
Ugh, two. I have the Irish Diamond Shawl, and a sweater for my husband….here’s some finishing mojo for you…hope it works!
my weekend getaway satchel is clearly in that category. i still want it and i have so much yarn for it, it will get made…but when? who knows! maybe it will still get taken out this season. we’ll see
good luck on your continuing endeavor!
It’s so pretty! I have a cabled sweater from hell left undone and I don’t know when I’ll ever get it done!
One Pearl Buck Sweater. Okay, I’ll get it out tonight.
Perfectly reasonable! You can totally do it! I have a laceweight cardi that’s been on the needles for a couple of years at this point. I’m either going to finish it or frog it soon. I’m sick of it being there.
I hope that the amount of time it’s taking you to knit your hoodie isn’t diminishing your love for it. I know that you were so excited for this project, I hope you’re still loving seeing the cables emerge.
My longest lingering project is my Lizard Ridge blanket. I started it over a year ago! Funny, blankets seem to be the most neglected projects from your commenters…we all must have short attention spans
Really super pathetic: I have an Irish Hiking Scarf that is about 20 inches long and is STILL a wip–two years later!
Tangled Yoke- or as I recently call it Mangled Joke- on the needles WAY.Too. Long.
My husband’s sweater. It’s in 2×2 rib and I’ve been working on it for, I think, four years now. It’s also in the “just get it done” basket. I’m determined to finish it so he can wear it this year! And, being in Arizona, that means I need to finish it soon.
Those cables look so great in that yarn and shade of blue! I made an irish hiking scarf that took me a year exactly to finish. I also took a year to make my first pair of socks! Right now I have Flair from Knit and Tonic on my needles and while I love it, I just can’t seem to finish it.
Go girl! You can do it! Just think about how much you’re going to love wearing this sweater - I just love wearing mine.
No long-term UFOs for me - I’m annoying and compulsive that way. But I’m so bored with my two current projects I feel like casting on for something new… must… resist…
You’re not the only one, Lolly. I’ve had an unfinished sweater in my bag for almost a year and a half. It was supposed to be a sweater called Zara from the Rowan Bigger Picture pattern book. I am reminded of it whenever I look in the bag to grab a skein of a certain color.
Perhaps, I too will make it a goal to finish it before the year is over.
I love the cables on your sweater. Good luck to you.
I have a cute green sweater that just needs sleeves and a shawl collar…it’s been hiding in a bag for two years now.
i’ll get to it someday…
What you have done is beautiful. Good luck with achieving your goal.
It IS a pretty blue and the bobbled cable is so yummy
I once started a dream cardigan and then lost interest (how could I lose interest in my dream cardigan??!!) Finally when Vanessa (coloursknits) finished her cardi (we were knitting along on the same cardi), I was motivated to get mine done. Of course when it was done, I liked it all over again 
So I’m sending you wishes for making good speed on your cardi.
That’s a beautiful shade of blue. I really love that pattern and was very tempted by it. I am knitting the Must Have cardi from the Street Smart book. I started it, not sure if I was up to it, and am slowly working through the back, with 2 fronts and 2 sleeves to go. I kinda planned on this to be a long-term knit, but I’m enjoying the ongoing relationship. As to other things…I frogged a Koigu sock that had been on the needles since October of 2005. Not sure why, as I’ve knit 3 other pairs of socks since then, and I really like the color, but y’know…I have yet to finish anything Koigu.
I know how it goes. It took me three years to knit one of my favorite and most luxurious sweaters. I’ve tried to hold myself to a year but I fear that my red sweater will be a bit more than a year. One can only hope that it doesn’t take longer than a year.
Put in a good movie and just knit yourself happy. When you finish it, you’ll think now why I did it take me so long?
Do I? You’re kidding, right? I don’t have any I have many!
I know how you feel. I have a cabled jumped on the needles - it’s been there for 18 months, pre-blog!
That IS a beautiful pattern and yarn! I have been feeling the same way lately. There are some things on the needles that I must get finished.
I have a Jade Starmore sweater for my husband lingering, as well as a very large lace shawl.
That hoodie will be a life-long treasue. It is so you. Everything from the beautiful meandering of the cables, to the style and. did I mention. the “Lolly blue” color? It is so lovely and you will cherish it forever. It will also give you such a feeling of accomplishment. I can’t wait to see the finished product! XXOO
Oh yes, I have a sweater for my mom that has been lingering for a long while now. It’s just gotten to a boring section and stayed there. Not to mention it’s on tiny needles. I haven’t picked it up in quite a long time!
I feel your frustration. I’ve got a couple of projects from my very first year knitting (that would be ‘05). I still love them, I just can’t seem to get back to them. Your hoodie looks so pretty though, your determination can get it done I’m sure, and it will be beautiful.
I love that sweater! And that blue is pretty much perfect. I know what you mean though, about wanting to be finished with a project. I recently set aside a cabled dress for gift knitting, and I was secretly just a little happy to stuff it away for later. Don’t tell!
This is, without a doubt, going to be stunning on you!
The real question is, do I have any projects that have made it on and off needles in a reasonable period of time? My two biggies are my Central Park Hoodie, which is going on a year and my nameless blue cardigan which is probably in the 3 or 4+ year range. Oh, the shame.
Oh yes, plenty to finish off before the end of the year. I would like to start 08 on a fresh plate. So, am in the same mode of finishing off all that’s been lingering on. Happy knitting Lolly!
The cables and color are so beautiful! But I know that feeling…my Ariann has been on the needles too long. I love the yarn, the pattern, but I just can’t seem to finish it!
what a gorgeous cable pattern in that blue yarn! i believe you picked a great combination here. can’t wait to see the finished object
I could have written your post if you substitute pink picot camisole for your sweater. Thank you for venting what I think a lot of us are feeling!!
I started the camisole last June, but due to gauge issues and due to the fact the top has to be re-designed for a better fit (which I’ve not done before), I keep stopping and starting each time I get stuck. I need to just sit down and knit through and stop worrying so much. It will be pretty when it’s done, but as you said, I just want to get it off the needles now (or hopefully before the end of the year). Sending lots of motivation your way!
[...] course, I have a hoodie to finish [...]
yes! I have an afghan that needs to be finished! It’s hanging over my head and driving me nuts. So I think I will make that a goal for the new year.
I have a cabled hoodie (Central Park) that has been on the needles about 7 months. That’s the longest UFO that I have any hope of finishing. My longest knit UFO is my husband’s 1st (and only) handknit sweater. It’s Jesse’s Flames from SnB Nation. I started almost as soon as I learned to knit, about three years ago. I finished the front and back in a jiffy, but the intarsia stumped me. I picked it up again about a year ago, confident that I could do the intarsia, but I had to rip back all that I had done on the sleeves so far…which put me off a little bit. But more than anything, I had knit it with Wool-Ease, which isn’t too bad, but still a little acrylic-y for my taste.
Ooooh - I have a jersey for my husband on the needles, and I reckon it’s been there for about 3-4 years! The colour comes off on my hands and everything else and is SO annoying. I wonder whether it’ll ever make it from my hands to his back!
I have the print o’ the wave stole that has been on the needles for over a year. It’s made of a mohair yarn, and I know I’m going to need to do some before I get going again. Just putting it off for when I can really sit down, think about it, and be re-inspired. It’ll happen.